Skyline football RB Keyes rushing leader in state, looks ahead

Skyline running back Amarii Keyes (25) rushed for over 1,000 yards, averaging 94.3 yards a game. He also scored 12 touchdowns in the 2014-15 season. This photo was taken last year during a home game on Oct. 10, 2014 against Desert Ridge. (Arianna Grainey/Independent Newspapers)

Skyline High School is undefeated going into the Sept. 11 game against Millennium High and on the team is one of the state’s rushing yard leaders, senior Amarii Keyes.

Keyes had a very good junior season, according to head coach Angelo Paffumi.

“He had a very productive season, he rushed for over a 1,000 yards,” Paffumi said. “Later in the year, once he got the feel for it, got the rhythm going, he was much more explosive for us.

Keyes split rushing with another running back and between the two, Paffumi said that they had nearly 3,000 yards.

“It’s pretty fun I split carries,” Keyes said.

Amarii Keyes makes a one-handed catch to warm up at the start of practice. (Arianna Grainey/Independent Newspapers)

During his junior year, Keyes averaged 94.3 yards a game, which is just over six yards shy of running a full football field.

Keyes has been on the football team since he was a freshman, and now being a senior, this will be his last season. Paffumi said that he would miss Keyes’ work ethic and personality the most.

“He’s a quiet kid, he’s a leader by example,” Paffumi said. “I’m going to miss that I don’t have to go find him.”

Keyes has a scholarship offer from Brigham Young University but is waiting until signing day to make any official announcements.

According to the MaxPreps stats from last year, Keyes was the sixth top rusher in Division I and 51st in the state. So far this season, he has rushed for 441 yards, has 66 carries and scored seven touchdowns for the Coyotes. As of press time on Friday at noon, Keyes is sixth top rusher in the state and first in Division II. He said that the drop in division has not changed how the team practices or plays.

“We are still grinding like we were in D-I,” Keyes said.

Coach Paffumi has some high expectations for not only Keyes but his team as well.

“We still need to break away some longer runs,” Paffumi said. “But we’ve been giving him (Keyes) the ball a lot, and he’s been doing really well with it.”

The team, Paffumi would like to take to the state championship, which has been a goal for him since he arrived at Skyline three years ago, but they have fallen short all three years.

“We have high goals, we have high expectations, we want to win a state championship,” Paffumi said. “We want to go undefeated, we want to win our region and get a good season in playoffs.”

Keyes also has some goals for himself.

“First of all I want to win a championship and for myself, do better than I did last year,” Keyes said.

Amarii Keyes takes a hand off from another Skyline player during a practice on Sept. 8 at Skyline High School.(Arianna Grainey/Independent Newspapers)

When Keyes and the rest of the Coyotes faced Westview on Aug. 21, during the first game of the 2015-16 season, he rushed for 251 yards.

“The first game, he didn’t really have his explosive legs under him yet,” Paffumi said. “(He was) still nursing an injury,” Paffumi said.

“We were up at camp and I sprained my knee, so I was out for like two to three weeks,” Keyes said of the injury.

When asked what Keyes will be able to do, when he is 100 percent healthy he said, “You gotta wait and find out.”

News Services Assistant Arianna Grainey can be reached at 623-445-2717, via e-mail at agrainey@newszap.com or on twitter atariannagrainey.

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